Omotoyosi Ayanwola

EQUALITY

You declare you see me dimly

through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and making time.

You do own to hear me faintly

as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.

Equality, and I will be free.

Equality, and I will be free.

You announce my ways are wanton,

that I fly from man to man,
but if I'm just a shadow to you,
could you ever understand?

We have lived a painful history,

we know the shameful past,
but I keep on marching forward,
and you keep on coming last.

Equality, and I will be free.

Equality, and I will be free.

Take the blinders from your vision,

take the padding from your ears,
and confess you've heard me crying,
and admit you've seen my tears.

Hear the tempo so compelling,

Omotoyosi Ayanwola

hear the blood throb through my veins.

Yes, my drums are beating nightly,
and the rhythms never change.

Equality, and I will be free.

Equality, and I will be free.

Written by Maya Angelou

Omotoyosi Ayanwola

Maya Angelou’s poem, “Equality,” published in 1990 (“EQUALITY - Maya Angelou.

African - American Poetry,’” 1990), addresses how black women are seen and treated in the eyes

of men, and calls for an end to gender and racial inequality. Through her use of references to a

historical pattern of oppression, along with her use imagery, and other powerful poetic

techniques, Angelou’s poem calls for the recognition of the racial and gender inequality that she

faces as a black woman.

The poem begins with Angelou addressing her oppressor: “You declare you see me

dimly/ through a glass which will not shine.” Through this stanza, Angelou is suggesting that

although men see her, they objectify her. The time at which the poem was published (1990)

marks a time in which black women were often ignored or objectified in mainstream culture. As

evidenced by the popularity of movies such as Coming to America (1988), black and African

women were often presented in roles that were misleading or demeaning (Landis, 1988). Further

in the stanza, Angelou states that she is only heard faintly, “as a whisper out of range.” She is

neither seen nor heard accurately, and this is why her call for equality is so insistent.

Her use of imagery continues into the next stanza, with reference to a historical cycle of

oppression: “While my drums beat out the message, /and the rhythms never change.” Her

reference to drums can be seen as culturally specific, considering the importance percussion

instruments have had in black culture (“The History of African-American Music - Student

Resources in Context,” 2013). The unchanging rhythms can be thought of as symbolic of

Angelou’s call for equality within a repeating cycle of inequality—a cycle that began with

slavery and gender inequality in the U.S. and that is now perpetuated by the racial and sexual

oppressor whom Angelou refers to as “you” in the poem. It is likely that this “you” that she

addresses is men—both white and black.

Omotoyosi Ayanwola

Angelou employs an ABCB rhyme scheme, and utilizes it to gain the reader's attention to

the most important aspects of the poem. The scheme is broken with the repeated phrase

“Equality, and I will be free.” This disrupts the rhythm of the poem, but it is also figuratively

used to break the rhythm of the oppression black women face. In the fourth stanza, Angelou

continues to employ the same poetic devices, but focuses specifically on black women and their

hypersexualization: “You announce my ways are wanton,/that I fly from man to man,/but if I’m

just a shadow to you, / could you ever understand?” The use of the word “wanton,” which

defines someone as sexually promiscuous, demonstrates that men see the speaker of the poem in

a sexualized way, but fail to view her as the human being she is. Further in the poem, instead of

addressing the previously mentioned “you” a “I” group, Angelou shifts focus and states that “We

have lived a painful history, / we know a shameful past.” by using the term “we”, Angelou is

seeking solidarity within the African American community. A particularly powerful part of this

section is how Angelou begins with addressing the black community as a whole, but ends with

stating how she moves forward: “But I keep on marching forward,/and you keep coming on

last.” This suggests that Angelou feels as if men are responsible for perpetuating the detrimental

portrayal and treatment of black women in society. By “coming on last” Angelou means that

they fail to acknowledge the inequality, and that they need to become active in putting an end to

it.

The last section of the poem continues with “Equality and I will be free.” but Angelou

uses this section as a call to action. With an insistent tone, she states how her oppressor should

“Remove the blinders from your vision, /take the padding from your ears, /and confess you’ve

heard me crying, /and admit you’ve seen my tears.” Angelou does not go as far as to call for the

end of oppression, but rather realizes that the first step in the process towards equality is the
Omotoyosi Ayanwola

recognition of inequality. She ends with the personalization of the instructions, by stating how

the rhythms of her drums will never change. This means that even if equality isn't reached,

Angelou will continue in her pursuit for an equal society.

“Equality” brings about a variety of interpretations, but I think Angelou’s focus was

African American women and the important place they have in society. In addition, I feel that

Angelou wanted to speak about the special discrimination black women face regarding their

sexuality and appearance. The poem contributes to the understanding of race in the United States

by addressing the combination of racism and sexism, and how black women have been subject to

it since their appearance in our society. The poem also helps us understand the black female

experience with constant objectification.

I believe, just as Angelou implies in her poem, that the first step in reaching racial and

gender equality is the recognition of inequality. This recognition can be taught by implementing

the general acceptance of the theory of intersectionality. This theory, proposed by Kimberlé

Crenshaw in 1989, suggests that gender bias and racism often intersect to create even more

harmful types of bias (Crenshaw, October 2016). In addition, this intersectionality manifests

itself not only in sexism, but also in economic inequality. According to the American

Association of University Women, black women make about 63 cents to every white man’s

dollar (“The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap Spring 2017). This gap is wide for many

reasons, but can be largely attributed the lack of legislative infrastructure that allows black

women to work and take care of their children at the same time. I believe that the way to

decrease the wage gap is to implement legislation that gives black women access to affordable

childcare, along with a sufficient amount of family days off.

Omotoyosi Ayanwola

The next point of action should be the destruction of harmful stereotypes, specifically

those that depict black women as sexual objects. Black women are often portrayed in select

ways, either in sexualized “jezebel” roles, or in asexual, nurturing “mammy” roles (Selling Sexy:

Dr. Dionne Stephens, n.d.). When Angelou speaks of black women as being portrayed as

wanton, she too is recognizing these harmful stereotypes. Diversifying the images of black

women we see every day will normalize the idea that they are a diverse set of people, a thought

that would bring us closer to equality. Additionally, ending this hypersexualizing would put into

practice Angelou's call for taking blinders from eyes and padding from ears. As Angelou once

stated: “...In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

Although these goals may be difficult to achieve, I believe they are necessary for the

creation of a society in which everyone can coexist, free of oppression that is rooted in gender

and racial bias. Angelou, through her inspiring poem “Equality,” presented a strong voice for the

black female population. The conditions she spoke against continue to persist in black women's

lives, but her poems inspire a future generation.

Word Count of Essay: 1191

Omotoyosi Ayanwola

Bibliography

Crenshaw, K. (October 2016). The urgency of intersectionality. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality

Landis, J. (1988). Coming to America.

EQUALITY - Written by the Famous African American Author Maya Angelou. Send

this poem to a friend. “African - American Poetry.” (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2017, from

http://www.ctadams.com/mayaangelou6.html

The History of African-American Music - Student Resources in Context. (n.d.). Retrieved

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The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2017). (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

Landis, J. (1988). Coming to America. Retrieved from

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094898/parentalguide